The Brain cover art

The Brain

The Story of You

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

About this listen

This is the story of how your life shapes your brain and how your brain shapes your life. Locked in the silence and darkness of your skull, the brain fashions the rich narratives of your reality and your identity.

Join renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman for a journey into the questions at the heart of our existence. What is reality? Who are 'you'? How do you make decisions? Why does your brain need other people? How is technology poised to change what it means to be human?

In the course of his investigations, Eagleman guides us through the world of extreme sports, criminal justice, facial expressions, genocide, brain surgery, gut feelings, robotics, and the search for immortality.

Strap in for a whistle-stop tour into the inner cosmos. In the infinitely dense tangle of billions of brain cells and their trillions of connections, something emerges that you might not have expected to see in there: you.

©2015 Canongate Books (P)2015 Canongate Books Ltd Biological Sciences Chapter Books & Readers Literature & Fiction Science Nonfiction Human Brain Inspiring Technology Feel-Good

Critic reviews

"Entertaining and profound: page-turning neuroscience from a bit of a genius." (Guardian)
"Clear, engaging and thought-provoking." (Nature)
"The posterboy of neuroscience with ideas that will stretch your mind." (Observer)
All stars
Most relevant
Very well written and researched a great book for parents, teachers and professionals. Really awesome

Content

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
very interesting because when you look at a living brain it looks nothing . it doesn't beat like the heart it colour is nothing to interest you, but that organ runs every thing, your thoughts, knowledge and understanding of languages, maths, words, Co ordination of driving a car good or bad. it remembers from the last time it instructs you to run or fight the list is endless. it is you good or bad. this organ also runs other organs as books have been written about the gut and how it is joined to the brain. The brain is the least known of all the organs .
the book helps you think your way through who you are.

some things to think about

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Easy to listen to, extremely interesting and important. Its only fault was that it ended.

Can’t recommend it enough!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An engaging look at species and personal development of the brain - it's light enough for the layman and I found it fascinating.

What makes you, you

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A bit too much politics in that chapter about the war in Bosnia. There are more clear examples in history of failure to cooperate internationally. It would have been more honest to use your own nation of USA to show how terrible atrocities are done. And still happening on industrial scale!

From a Serbian

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews